Belarus to scrap high enriched uranium stocks-U.S.

ASTANA Dec 1 (Reuters) - Belarus has pledged to eliminate its stocks of highly enriched uranium by 2012 as part of a U.S.-assisted drive to reduce global supplies of a material that can be used for making atomic weapons, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.

Belarussian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov announced the decision following a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Kazakh capital Astana, where both are attending a summit of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. (Reporting by Andrew Quinn, writing by Robin Paxton; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)